ENSLAVED Teams Up With GIBSON Guitars

In the world of extreme music, Norway's ENSLAVED have always been a force to be reckoned with — and one that will not rest on its laurels: After almost two decades in the game, ENSLAVED have developed and widened their scope of pure dark music, incorporating progressive and atmospheric structures in their brand of black metal, giving PINK FLOYD a make-over in hell, if you will.

To achieve this sound between depth and brutality, Ivar Bjørnson (guitar),Grutle Kjellson (bass) and Ice Dale (guitars) have been using Gibson guitars for a long time — so long in fact, that's it's time to make this partnership official:

Comments the band: "For any youngster, Gibson is a name held in great reverence; from the point you decide to become a guitarist onwards. When we saw Jimmy Page, Ace Frehley, Euronymous or Slash making magic happen on their Gibsons, there was no turning back: it had to be a Gibson. Sure, you could catch us red-handed buying a pair of Levi's lookalikes to save a buck, but with the guitars and basses there's no question. We are where we dreamed of being back then, we're recording albums and travelling the world to play live. Loyalty surely paid off; now we have been admitted into the exclusive tribe of Gibson-endorsed artists. The guitar work and sound is one of ENSLAVED's most distinctive features — it can only sound like that with Gibson, as simple as that."

ENSLAVED's latest opus, "Vertebrae", was released in September 2008.

The band is currently preparing for the festival season and a U.S. tour with OPETH.